Out and About

 Dear Marmite

You are always in my thoughts and when I am out and about I often wonder what you would think of the places I visit. Over the past week I have been to two National Trust places. I went to Wimpole Hall and then when I was up visiting Sue in Nottinghamshire, I popped into The Workhouse. 

Both visits were really worthwhile and I was blessed with good weather for both of them. Wimpole Hall in Cambridgeshire is a working farm and has some really beautiful gardens. I actually considered taking some seeds from the plants in the walled garden but my conscience got the better of me. 

Sadly, all over the south of England there is a water shortage and the trees have shed many of their leaves as if it was autumn already. I reckon we should do more sharing of seeds to keep the land in balance.

My garden has suffered. A couple of weekends away over the hottest part of the summer meant that the plants in pots shrivelled. Many of the plants I bought in the Spring have come to nothing. The tree that Sammi pollarded for me last Christmas has fought back and looks remarkably lush considering. I am waiting for a few weeks and then I'll feed the garden with compost and start again with the pots. 

At The Workhouse I was particularly taken with the language that was once used to describe the inmates' mental state. There wasn't the means to deal with poor mental health back then. All of this language is now very much Non PC. It was a tough life for those who gave themselves up to live in and women faired worse as they were still at the mercy of their husbands - they had to leave if their husbands chose to leave or stay if their husbands chose to stay. I imagine the workhouses had more than their share of the mentally ill.

Women didn't have free will. Even the women's management jobs were dependent on their husband's work. The school mistress had to leave when she chose to marry. Such were the times. The Poor Law of 1834 brought these refuges to all over Britain. From my visit, I feel that this one was one of the more enlightened ones. All workhouses were subject to inspection though. Perhaps it is my reading of Dickens that has clouded my perspective.

Naturally visiting Sue meant we talked about the old times. We spent so much time chatting I forgot to take any pictures. - oh silly me. We had a lovely walk across the fields. The views of rolling hills and distant villages is very different from my area - all of Britain gives me that sense of belonging to the land though. A very beautiful part of the country to live in - especially walking along the banks of the River Trent.

I met up with Diane in Flitwick and we had a country jaunt across fields to a pub in Steppingly which is near Woburn. Again, what a lovely walk and the blackberries were there for the picking. So Marms, two walks you might not have been too enthusiastic about even though they were not too long. 

On another note, I had a bit of bad news last Monday. The lump I had cut out of my neck over 6 weeks ago was a squamous cell carcinoma. I was given lots of literature about it. Having lived in the sun for 30 years and having played tennis outside plus all the other active things, I reckon I was a good candidate for getting one. So now I will lather up with the factor 50, wear a wide brimmed hat and stay out of the sun on doctor's advice... 

The offending lump in a jar

Such is getting old - as you well know my wonderful old man. 

Love you

XXX